Activity Report of the Executive Committee (2007)

January 1 – December 31, 2007

Publications:

Working Environment magazine is still continuing its publishing life. The magazine which is first published in 1992 reached its 95th issue at the end of year 2007. Working Environment is distrubuted to its subscribers, NGOs, trade unions, artists, academicians and socially sensitive persons. During this period, our magazine has filled an important gap in the field of child labour and occupational safety and health.

“Our “Friends of Child Labour” Campaign :

We started a campaign for the ones who would like to have our publications and / or donate to our efforts. A yearly donation of 40 YTL will make you “our Friend of Child Labour” who can easily follow our publications. We thank each and every one who inspired and helped us to increase the life standard of the working children by their donations.

Photography Contest on Child Labour :

The jury for the 4th photography contest met at the head quarters of our foundation on Saturday the 23rd of March, 2007. With the participation of Ozan Sagdic, Mehmet Aslan Guven, Adnan Polat, Erol Karaca and A.Gurhan Fisek as members of jury, the meeting proceeded as the works of photographers that are equal in quality competed with each other. We congratulate both the winners and the ones whose photographs were exhibited. These photographs are only exhibited this year which we publish as an album once in two years. We also uploaded all of these photos to our website to the admiration of all our visitors from all over the world. We saw the importance of the condition which requires at least one photo of working girl for entry to the contest that is ongoing for the last 5 years. Our archive of working girls is getting bigger as the quality of photos rises. The jury hardly decided and found its self in a big dilemma if the photograph which won the first prize in black and white should be awarded the first prize or the foundation special prize. We hope that children should study in schools, have fun in their spare time, play games with their friends, improve their skills by creative activities rather than working.

17th November – Water Within The Context of Globalisation (Doc.Dr. Sencer Imer, Dr. Nihal Atuk, Vedat Ozbilen and attendance of everybody)

Participations and Contributions:

Our foundation attends as NGO representative to ‘National Occupational Safety and Health Council’ formed by the Ministry of Labour and Social Security that has 25 members. Our Foundation is represented in ‘risk assesment group’ and ‘occupational safety and health draft proposed law group’. Prof.Dr.A.Gurhan Fisek, Dr. Senay Gokbayrak and Onur Sunal took part in these groups.

22 September: A.Gurhan Fisek gave a speech on ‘Social Policy against Daily Solutions’6th symposium on Working and Street Children organised by Local Government of Diyarbakir, Municipality of Diyarbakir and Dicle University.

14 December: Our Foundation was invited to the meting held for contribution to the evaluation report on ILO/IPEC programes conducted during the period between 2004-2007.

23 December: Ankara University year 2 students investigate NGOs working on social-health issues as a part of their public health course. A.Gurhan Fisek, gave a conferance on ‘Social Dimension of Helath’ topic.

27 December: Our Foundation was invited to the commitees formed for the preparation activities of two big meetings. As a part of the preperation activities for 22nd Occupational Safety and Health Week and 5th International Occupational Safety and Health Regional Conference, a ‘National and International Inquiry Committee’ is formed. Onur Sunal represents our foundation in this committee.

*Dr.Senay Gokbayrak, shared her research “The Brain Migration of Engineers” with the attendants.

12 November : Prof. Gurhan Fisek gave a conference on “Social Dimension of Medicine and Voluntary Organisations” with in the context of Ankara University Faculty of Medicine term-2 students” Public Health education .

Visits:

As each year, the senior year students of Ankara University, Faculty of Political Science, Labor Economy and Endustrial Relations Department, visited our foundation to get information about our activities on the subject of “Working Children”. As a part of this activity Prof.A.Gurhan Fisek gave a conference on the subject ‘ Social Dimension of Medical Practition and Fisek Institute’s Approach’ on 24th December 2007.

A group of students from Hacettepe University Faculty of Medicine, visited our foundation many times to contribute and investigate our activities on working children.

Yenimahalle Youth Club members and a group of students from Hacettepe University Faculty of Medicine visited our foundation many times to contribute and investigate our activities on working children.

Society Volunteers Foundation members from Bogazici University visited our foundation and gave/take information on their/our ongoing activities and exchanged ideas.

Bazaars and Fairs We Participated :

The NGOs that we have invited at Bazaars which we organize, usually invite us back as a sign of solidarity. Also other organisations who are interested in our Foundation and our activities invite us and they show their support and contribution. We thank all these organisations and our volunteers who work with devotion for the promotion of our Foundation.

Forum Exposition

Association for the Support of Contemporary Living Cankaya Branch, Bazaar

Association for the Support of Contemporary Living Ankara Branch, Bazaar

Golbasi Center for Rehabilitation of Mentally Retarded

Our Foundation received a free stand offer in ‘Handicrafts and Handmade Presents Exhibition’ organised by Forum Fuarcilik(Exhibition) that took place at Ataturk Culture Center. Products made by both our foundation volunteers and especially the mothers of our ‘Youth House for Girls’ took serious attention at the fair which also contributed to the promotion of our foundation. We would like to give our special thanks to Forum Fuarcilik which is also a foundation enterprise, for their sharing attitutude.

Contributions :

Studies we have been conducting at the Pendik Small Industry Site, together with the Bureau of Working Children (Pendik-Istanbul), which was formed under the Project of ILO/IPEC, by TISK (Turkish Workers” Union), gradually have been shifted under the responsibility of the group formed by TISK since 2002. Between January and December 2006, our foundation has made material and equipment contributions to the health surveillance activities of this group.

Denizbank contributed us in our effort to make an album of the 3rd and 4th Child Workers Photography Contest”s prize winning and exhibitioned photographs. By attending the opening of our exhibition and displaying our wall papaers in their bank branches they showed their sensitivity in child workers. Cankaya Municipality hosted us by letting us open our exhibition in Contemporary Arts Center.

The wives of the employees of Japanese Embassy contributed the income they collected from a fair to our Youg Girl”s House. They bought two sewing machines, scissors and production matterial for the mothers of Girls from Boztepe, who economically contribute to their family income and support their girls” education, so that they can use them for production. We would like to thank foremost to the wife of the Embassador Mrs. Motoko Abe and all our Japanese friends.

Our foundation attended and took part in many meetings and organisations which aimed to build capacity and enhance the network between NGO”s for children. As we are aware of the fact that, cooperation and assistance between NGO”s creates a multiplier effect, we will keep on supporting all the efforts made for enhancing child wefare.

On
– Going Projects :

Ostim and Sincan (Ankara) Organised Industrial Sites are the centers where Fisek Institute supplies its workplace common health unit services as a pioneer model…. Our ‘Mobile Clinics’ formed to serve small enterprises are visiting workplaces and reaching children working in these places.

Prof. Dr. Nusret Fisek Hall of Science and Art continues the “Library Site” as a part of its activities. The hall which consists of 12 libraries also have Turkey’s first libraries in areas below.These are:

1.Child Labour Library

2.Occupational Safety and Health-Environment Library

3.NGO Library

4.Social Policy and Trad Union Library

All through the year, we also could see how useful and functional the “Bookworm” Program was, developed by our information technology group; Didem Kamoy, Doruk Fisek and Ekin Meroglu. This made the libraries easily accesible on the internet. We thank them for their contribution.

Cooperations with Other Organisations :

Cooperation with TISK, concerning actions for working children: In Istanbul, the “Project for Shared (common) Health Unit for Workplaces” and “Bureau for Working Children” covering all child workers in Pendik Industry Site, is passed on to the team of TISK and our foundation supported the health services during January-December 2007 by donating useful examination instruments. We thank everybody who took part in this Project, especially General Secretary Mr Bulent Pirler, Research Expert Ms Zubeyde Celebioglu and Project Manager Dr Nezih Varol.

National Occupational Safety and Health Council’s usual members Turk-Is, Turk Tabipleri Birligi, Turkiye Mimar Muhendis Odalari Birligi, Kamu Emekcileri Sendikasi (KESK) and Fisek Institute’s alliance completed its study with a ‘PROPOSAL’., Proposal of a construction of a ‘National Occupational Safety and Health Institution’ as a contribution to the efforts of Ministry of Labour and Social Securty’s draft Occupational Safety and Health Law is presented to The National Occupational Safety and Health Council.

Our cooperation with Turkish Youth Federation started during the ‘Non-Violent Reaction to Violence’ workshop will be yielding its fruits with the symposium on ‘Think-Tank Against Violence’ which is going to be held on 19-20 April. The two parties work in harmony and cooparation. We would like to thank to the members of Turkish Youth Federation and their president Riza Sumer.

Research and Development Activities on Occupational Safety and Health

There is a huge lack of information and shortcomings in practice in the field of occupational safety and health in our country because of deficieny in sharing experineces and emination of knowledge. Fisek Institute since its foundation years played an important role in the field by its pioneering activities and practices. With accordance to our activities we added a new ring to our services; mobile e-Xray. The new system which ends the system of filming and developing enables the practitioners to evaluate the image in more detail reached the small enterprises while being absent in many health centers.

We prepared Mustafa Tasyurek’s ‘Puzzle- Getting to Know The Danger’ part in Working Environment Magazine in poster format. We added these new posters to our exhibition created by Feridun Yuksel. It can be visited by entering our website or by coming to our Occupational Safety and Health Practice Center at Ankara Sincan Organised Industrial Site. We would like to thank Mustafa Tasyurek and Feridun Yuksel for their contribution.

Relations with the Media :

We would like to thank to the members of media who wrote about us and contribute to our foundation’s mission by publishing them. Especially the producers of Ankara and Diyarbakir TRT Radio invited Gulbiye Yasar, Senay Gokbayrak and A.Gurhan Fisek many times.

Our Data-Processing Activities :

One of the most important achievements of an organisation is the ability to share the knowledge it acquired and activities done with the society. We call this the multiplier effect. This is very essential in giving hope to the responsible members of the society so that they can achieve the same. It is also important for an NGO to affect and change the society.

Global powers started controling the newspapers, distrubution companies, tv channels and radios after they recognised the importance of mass communication instruments. Another important source of power is ‘internet’ which is not under the control of global powers yet…Free software programs and widespread reach makes it possible to break down the monopolies and to form bridges between people. With low budget profiles, it is possible to spread knowledge in depth.

Therefore, we value our internet services as much as our other publishing activities. For the past 8 years we reached millions of people from all over the world. We owe this success to our members of IT team Doruk Fisek and Didem Kamoy. Also the stock of knowledge we have in the field of occupational safety and health and children are the results of heavy works of Onur Sunal and Mustafa Tasyurek. We would like to thank both of them.

Our website is visited by 1.100.000 people in 2007. Nearly 3.000 people visit our websites daily in other words. We are happy to reach the Turks living abroad and the foreigners living in different countries.